Were you surprised when your record, Chapter 2: World Domination, went gold?
Juicy J: Yeah, I thought it was gonna just do 2 or 300,00 that's it. I really didn't think it was gonna go gold, but with the support from everybody at Relativity, we had the cover for y'all magazine, and the team work--bam! it went gold. It surprised the hell outta me.
What kinda units had you sold before?
JJ: 100,000 on our first album. Live By Yo' Rep 75,000. Skinny Pimp, we did 75,000 on it. Still sellin, it's probably at 100,000 by now. It's been good, for real.
World Domination was in Billboard charts for the entire year.
JJ: Yes. Still in Billboard. About to make some things happen. Chapter 2 jumped in Billboard in November of '97, and it's still in Billboard.
Where are most of your sales based?
three six mafia

JJ: Mostly in the South still. A lotta people are catchin on to "Tear Da Club Up". It was a struggle, but they startin to catch on.
1998 has been a busy year for you?
JJ: It's hell. Phones ringin off the hook. Business though, not bullshit, business.
Who's handling all the business for Hypnotize Minds?
JJ: DJ Paul and Juicy J. Everything. Booking tours, everything.
How do you manage, being the label and the artists? It must be hard.
JJ: It's hell. I go home, jump in the shower, get an extra coupla clothes, and I sleep in the office. Wake up in the mornin and jump on the phone. That's what I do, I sleep in the office.
What about Paul?
JJ: Paul, he don't sleep in the office, but he be on point just as much as I do. He be home takin the calls from the house. It's teamwork.
You have a family?
JJ: No, I don't got no family. I don't got no kids, I'm single. Paul got one kid, but he's not married either. He's got one baby boy.
Tell us what kind of plans you have for Hypnotize Minds?
JJ: I got a coupla R & B acts I'm workin with right now. Got a movie comin out, it's still in development. We just now droppin the Tear Da Club Up Thugs album, it's called Crazy In Da Laz Dayz. Then we got the new Three 6 Mafia album, got Project Pat, T-Rock.
Who's in Tear Da Club Up Thugs?
JJ: Got DJ Paul, Juicy J and Lord Infamous. That's the original Three 6 Mafia. We started Three 6 Mafia from the jump. It's some of the wildest music we ever made. It's wild. It's a club album.
I know a lot of your fans are wondering if Three 6 Mafia is going to keep it hard, keep it Gangsta or are you going to change up?
JJ: We gotta keep it the same way we started with. Can't change it, can't change it at all. We're gonna give 'em all "Tear Da Club Up" type shit. It's gonna roll forever. It's not gonna never quit. When you change that's when you fall. Ain't no reason to change.
Where did the idea come from to form the group Tear Da Club Up Thugs?
JJ: It just came about. We just came up with some ideas one day and decided to just put it down. We said, let's do a Tear Da Club Up Thugs album.
What kind of questions do other magazines ask you?
JJ: Mainly everybody wants to talk about the 666 thing. And they be asking: Do you worship the devil? Three 6 Mafia is not a devil worshipping Rap group. That's the main thing a lotta people ask.
Three 6 Mafia is like a Memphis N.W.A..
JJ: You're right. We talk about street life, the end of the world, all kinds of subjects. But the devil, we ain't with that. It's just a name.
One of trademarks to your musical style is the way you sample vocal tracks and flip it back and repeat it. How did that develop?
JJ: It's just our style. It came natural. Me and Paul been doin beats for a long time, we been doin it like that for a long time. That's just the Memphis style and me and Paul, we got it locked down. Hypnotize Minds got it locked down.
I heard you started off DJing, when did you start?
JJ: I been DJing since about '87. I imagine Paul been DJing around the same time too. I met Paul through a friend, I was around 19 or 20. We started workin together. We did parties together. We did a lotta things as a team, it's about teamwork. When you with a team it's better, you have a lotta heads on. The whole Three 6 Mafia, everybody put their ideas in and it just comes out hard.
When did you meet Lord Infamous and when did the rest of Three 6 Mafia come together?
JJ: Lord Infamous and DJ Paul are brothers. Paul had a handful of rappers, I had a handful of rappers, and we just cliqued 'em together.
Me and Paul started Prophet Entertainment.
Which is the older brother? Paul or Lord Infamous?
JJ: Lord In is older. That was the core members of Three 6 Mafia--DJ Paul, Lord Infamous and Juicy J.
What part of Memphis are you from?
JJ: North Memphis, Elk Green.
Is there a lot of Rap happening out there?
JJ: Yeah, there's a lotta people out there rappin. It's a lotta talent out there.
Three 6 Mafia really opened up the doors for Memphis.
JJ: It's a lot goin on in Memphis. Memphis, we have our own style. Now major labels are callin, they're comin down, holdin talent showcases. It's lots of shit goin on now. Memphis is the hype right now. Every time I turn around it's a major label down here lookin for some artists.
How is your relationship with Relativity? Cool?
JJ: It's on a very positive tip. It's cool, we work together real well. I love everybody out at Relativity. Much love.
I know your fans are waiting for the next Three 6 Mafia album.
JJ: It's gonna be the same from the start. When you hear the Tear Da Club Up Thugs album you'll know. Wild, buck wild, no wall flower shit. It's wild. It's gonna always stay the same. Keepin it real.